


Six Years' Absence

by KlavierWrites



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Birthday, Declarations Of Love, Demisexual Yu, Friendship, Future Fic, Letters, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 18:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12138717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlavierWrites/pseuds/KlavierWrites
Summary: Six years ago, Yu moved away and effectively vanished from the investigation team's lives.When Yosuke turns twenty-six, he shows up on his doorstep.





	Six Years' Absence

**Author's Note:**

> This works on the assumption that P5 is set ten years after P4. You don't need to have played P5 to understand this, I just stole a plot point or two for Yu's backstory. 
> 
> I usually call the P4 protag Souji but I've been playing a LOT of P4 Dancing All Night and Yosuke saying "Yu! You really are the best partner I could ever have!" is basically seared into my brain at this point. So Yu it is.

There was a pile of mail waiting for Yosuke when he got in from work on his twenty-sixth birthday. He dropped his bag by the door and kicked off his shoes, sitting down at the kitchen table and sifting through the letters. Two envelopes that looked like bills, which he put aside for later. A generic card from his parents, a postcard from Kanami – she was in LA filming some idol thing and wished him happy birthday in round, cutesy kanji – and a small wrapped parcel from Rise. The parcel turned out to be a collector’s edition CD from a group he’d been banging on about the last time they’d met up, and he was oddly touched. He made a mental note to FaceTime her later, since she’d promised to do so once she realised she’d be away for his birthday.

He paused for a moment, then went through the pile of letters again. Something was missing. The past six years, there’d always been one more letter. A simple birthday card from Yu, the only communication he still had with his best friend from high school.

After determining that the letter wasn’t trapped under the mat and didn’t slip off the table, he called Chie. She picked up after the second ring.

“Happy Birthday!” she shouted down the phone, making him wince.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I’m on my way back now, I’ll be home in like ten minutes and then we should order pizza. I caught Naoto on my way into work today, but she was heading out for a case out of town. She said she wasn’t sure when she’d be back, so she might be a no-show tonight. But Kanji, Yukiko and Teddie are all good to go.”

“Chie,” he said, “did you move the post this morning?”

“Huh? No, it hadn’t arrived before I left. Why, did the mailman not come or something?”

Yosuke leaned back a little in his chair, trying to keep his breathing even. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t.

“No, it’s just. Well, the card from Yu didn’t come.”

Chie took a moment to reply. “Yosuke…” she said sadly, “we all new that this might happen.”

Yosuke swallowed. She was right, of course. He hadn’t heard a peep from Yu for over six years now, except for the birthday cards, which were blank except for a hastily scribbled “To Yosuke” and “from Yu”, and he was the only one of their friendship group to even get that. Yu had dropped completely off the map, and honestly, he was surprised the cards had kept coming these last few years. Not least because he’d moved out of his parents’ house and into a two-bedroom apartment with Chie in Okina.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “It just sucks.”

“Yeah,” said Chie, and then her voice brightened, “But who needs Yu Narukami, anyway? Just sit tight, I’m literally on the bus right now, I’ll be back super soon. Start thinking of pizza orders.”

Chie hung up, and Yosuke tapped Rise’s name in his recent calls, booting up FaceTime. He let it ring for a bit, then a text came through saying that she was still working but would phone later, wishing him happy birthday. It was more emoji than it was words, which made him smile.

There was another text, he realised, from Naoto, making the apologies that Chie had already passed on. There’d been new evidence on a case she’d been working on, and it was being held in the police department two towns over. She didn’t know how long it’d take, but promised she’d try to make it to the end of the get together if she could.

He tapped out a reply, telling her not to worry about it, then the key was turning in the lock and Chie was walking in, holding an honest-to-God birthday cake from the Junes confectionary section.

“Surprise!” she said.

Twenty-six wasn’t a special birthday, but Chie had been looking for an excuse to throw Yosuke a party since his promotion at work. Which is why the icing on the cake read “Happy Birthday, Junes Marketing Dp Head Designer” which was not Yosuke’s official title, but probably all that’d fit on a cake.

“You didn’t have to,” he said, taking the cake from her and chuckling at the cramped writing. “What did they say when you told them what to write?”

“Thought I was taking the piss, obviously,” said Chie, “Because why would I buy someone who worked at Junes a Junes cake?”

“Worrying levels of customer loyalty?” he suggested, putting the cake down on the kitchen counter. Chie was scrutinising him when he turned around.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “about Yu.”

Chie didn’t usually do physical affection with anyone but Yukiko, but she pulled Yosuke into a brief but well-meaning hug, patting him on the back.

He sighed as she pulled away. “It’s cool,” he said, “I knew it was going to happen.”

Chie hummed in acknowledgement and looked down at her phone. “The others will be here soon,” she said, “Be prepared for Kanji to mention his new boyfriend. Or girlfriend.”

“Kanji’s dating someone?” asked Yosuke, leaning back against the counter. He was not looking forward to being the only single one this evening, if that were true. Teddie didn’t count, since the damn bear still looked like a fourteen-year-old.  

“Yukiko thinks so,” said Chie, “and she’s not the most observant when it comes to this stuff, so if _she’s_ noticed...”

 “No kidding. Who could forget how long it took for her to realise you were asking her out?”

Chie snorted, “Hey,” she said, “It’s not her fault she thought friends’ romantic meals for two were a thing.”

“Or friends’ Christmas Eve celebrations,” said Yosuke, playing off an old riff.

“Friends’ ice skating.”

“Friends’ hand holding.”

“Friends’ declarations of love outside their window after an argument,” said Chie, “Although to be fair, she got the idea after that one.”

Chie had that slightly mooning look she got whenever she thought of her best friend turned girlfriend of two years, and Yosuke looked away. The old joke hurt a little today, with Yu’s abandonment at the forefront of his mind.

-

Yukiko, Kanji and Teddie arrived as a group, all having gotten the same train from Inaba. Yukiko he’d seen recently, since she was always hanging around their apartment to see Chie, but the other two it’d been a while since he’d seen face-to-face.

Teddie caught him in a bear hug (ha) the minute he walked in the door, burying his face into Yosuke’s chest.

“Yosuke, I’ve missed you,” he said passionately, his arms firmly around Yosuke’s middle. “Never leave me with Kanji that long again, it’s un _bear_ able.”

“Hey,” said Kanji, sounding genuinely put-out, “I feed you, don’t I?”

Teddie took a step back, ignoring Kanji. “Where’s Rise-chan and Nao-chan?”

“Rise can’t make it,” said Yosuke, “I already told you that. And Naoto had something come up at work.”

Teddie pouted while Kanji pulled Yosuke into a one-armed hug. He waited until Chie had shepherded Teddie into the next room before asking, “No letter from Yu, then?” It was sensible to wait, Teddie still got unduly emotional whenever anyone mentioned ‘sensei.’

“No,” said Yosuke.

“That sucks, man. You gunna be alright?”

“I dunno,” he said honestly, “I mean, I have to be, don’t I? And it was always weird that I was the only one he stayed in contact with, anyway.”

“Not that weird,” said Kanji gruffly, “Considering you two were…” he paused for Yosuke to fill in the blanks.

“Whatever we were,” he said. Partners, once upon a time. Though that was always something Yosuke pushed and Yu went along with.

Kanji clapped him on the back. “I won’t lie to you, I always thought you two were gunna end up together. Funny how things turn out, ain’t it?”

And, apparently choosing to just leave Yosuke to deal with that comment, Kanji edged around him and into the living room.

Yosuke was rooted to the spot. He’d come out to the group a little after Chie and Yukiko had started dating, well after Yu had removed himself from their lives. He and Kanji never really talked about it. He’d apologised, of course, for how he’d acted in their second year of high school, when he was deep in denial and hyper-defensive as a result, but the conversation had been stilted. And even though Kanji was the only other queer guy he knew, he was more likely to turn to Chie when he wanted to talk about that kind of stuff. There was just too much uncomfortable history between he and Kanji for either of them to be particularly good at talking about their shared experiences.

Yosuke had never been in love with Yu. His Big Gay Realisation(TM) had happened after Yu had moved away, and he’d never had a chance to tell him. But despite his absence, Yu had played a crucial role in Yosuke’s realisation. He’d never really shared the complicated feelings he’d had for his best friend with anyone. Chie had some idea – she was his roommate, and a close friend, and had seen him drunk one to many times, so she’d picked it up. But Kanji? The only way he could have gotten that idea was through Yosuke and Yu’s interactions back when they were teenagers.

Yosuke had to physically shake his head to force himself to stop thinking about it. He was almost angry that he was thinking so much about the man, just because he’d failed to receive a birthday card he had no reason to keep getting anyway.

His friends were lounging all over the sofa in the living room when he entered, Teddie sprawled out on the floor, but Chie budged up, making space.

“The birthday boy should sit on the couch,” she said, patting the space between her and Kanji. Yosuke sat down in the tiny space allotted him, and Kanji didn’t look him in the eye. Apparently, he’d realised he’d said something to spook Yosuke and had entered hyper-defensive mode. Some things didn’t change.

Pizzas arrived, and alcohol was drunk (but not too much, they all had jobs to go to in the morning now) and Yosuke was feeling particularly chilled out and happy by the time the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” said Yosuke, extracting himself from the sofa crease he’d happily sunk into over the past few hours. It was late evening, the party would be wrapping up soon. It was kind of Naoto, he thought, to make an appearance, considering how far she’d had to travel already.

He was still in his work slacks and socks, his shirt having been swapped out for a red v-neck when he realised that his friends plus pizza was a very bad combination for the pressed white shirts he had to wear in the office. He checked it as he padded to the door though, pleased to see he’d avoided any obvious spills. Always nice when Naoto’s first words weren’t “your shirt is dirty.”

The man at the door wasn’t Naoto. In fact, for a moment, Yosuke didn’t have a clue who it was. They were tall and striking, with short silvery hair and a pair of thick, plastic-rimmed glasses. But then his brain kicked into gear, registering the nose and the shape of the jaw and picturing the hair just a little longer, covering the forehead and, “Yu?”

The chatter inside the living room behind Yosuke stopped abruptly.

“Uh, hi Yosuke. It’s been a while.”

Oh crap, the voice. Yosuke had entirely forgotten how soft Yu’s voice was.  
“What are you doing here?” he blurted, and immediately wanted to slap himself. Way to be welcoming.

“It’s your birthday, right?” said Yu, “I was in the area, I wanted to drop this off in person this year.”

He handed Yosuke a card that Yosuke took but barely glanced at, still staring at Yu. His face was different, his cheeks less round than they once were, his eyes a little more lined. His glasses were similar to the ones he’d worn in the TV world all those years ago, and Teddie had made a good choice, the shape suited him well. “Thank you,” said Yosuke, stupidly. There was a muffled shriek from the living room. It sounded like Teddie.

He saw Yu’s eyes flicker to the source of the noise. “I have friends over,” he said.

“Oh,” said Yu, “I won’t keep you, then.”

“No!” he said quickly, because honestly, what was he thinking? That made it sound like they weren’t people Yu knew. “I don’t mean it that way. It’s, uh, Chie and Yukiko and everyone. Well, not everyone.”

Was he imagining it, or did Yu look sad? He’d never been easy to read. “Tell them hi from me,” he said, which was crazy. But Yu was already stepping back, like he was ready to leave, and Yosuke reached out to grab his arm.

“Come in and say hi yourself,” he said, horribly aware that he still didn’t have any contact information for his old friend, “There’s no pizza left but I can offer you a drink? A chance to catch up?”

 “I’d like that,” he said, and he sounded relieved. Yosuke clearly heard Yukiko’s quiet “yes!” and flushed. Yu’s eyes twinkled.

Stepping aside to let Yu into his apartment was the most surreal experience of Yosuke’s life thus far. Or, well, at least since he stopped regularly climbing inside a TV. It was like a ghost of his life in Inaba was standing in his shiny new Okina apartment, and he felt awkward in a way he hadn’t since he was in school.

“This way then,” he said, and Yu followed him into the living room.

At first glance, you’d think his friends had been waiting patiently for him to return. But Yosuke was no idiot, and he didn’t miss that Kanji was now sitting on the floor, and that Chie and Yukiko’s positions said trying-to-look-relaxed rather than genuine relaxation. He had absolutely no doubt all four had been listening at the living room door.

Teddie shot up first, running up to Yu but, surprisingly, not throwing his arms around him as was the Teddie norm.

“Sensei!” he said, delighted, “You’re here to see us?”

Yu nodded. He had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and he was gripping the strap hard enough for his knuckles to whiten.

“You better have had a good reason for disappearing like you did!” said Teddie, his hands on his hips.

His stern expression was so ridiculously unlike him that the tension in the room broke, and Chie snorted with laugher.

“Jeez Yu,” she said, “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Chie,” said Yu, “And you, Teddie,” he added, at Teddie’s affronted huff. “It’s good to see all of you again.”

Yu continued to stand in the middle of the room, and Yosuke edged back into the kitchen as Yukiko spoke up, knowing the welcomes would take a while and feeling unbearably awkward. He poured Yu a drink – TaP soda, he didn’t know if Yu drank alcohol or not – and returned to the living room, handing it to him silently.

Yu looked a little more relaxed, now, but he was still standing. Yosuke perched on the arm of the sofa, legs crossed. Yukiko was sitting forward in her seat.

“Forgive me for asking, Yu-kun, but why show up now?”

“I was in the area, and it was Yosuke’s birthday,” he said, and Yosuke noticed his knuckles whitening on his bag strap again, “I thought I could give him his card in person.”

The card in question was sitting on Yosuke’s counter, put down when he poured Yu a drink, still unopened. “Oh right,” he said, “should I open that now or…?”

“No,” said Yu quickly, “open it when I’m gone.”

Yosuke was taken aback by the fast reply, but only nodded. “Sure.”

Kanji was looking between the two of them curiously, and Yosuke remembered the comment he’d made earlier that evening. The back of his neck prickled with heat.

“Hey,” said Kanji, “You planning on staying a bit, Yu?”

Yu looked at Yosuke. “I don’t think Yosuke wants me to.”

“Sure I do,” said Yosuke, “it’s a party, you should stay and catch up.”

“Yeah,” said Chie, “sit on the floor and tell us what you’ve been up to, it’ll be like old times.”

Yu did as requested, sitting down next to Teddie, who just about wet himself with excitement. And just like that, conversation moved on, Yu politely asking for updates on what everyone had been doing the past six years. He asked so many questions it was impossible to turn them back on him, or get any sense of what he’d been doing since they saw him last.

Eventually, the doorbell rang again, and Naoto turned up. She looked unsurprised to see Yu – evidently someone in the group had texted her – and greeted him warmly. She took up the space next to Kanji, and seeing the two of them together reminded Yosuke of Yukiko’s suspicions.

“Hey Kanji,” he said, as he returned to his perch on the edge of the sofa (Yukiko and Chie were taking up most of the room, Chie having thrown her legs over Yukiko’s lap.) “Yukiko said you were dating someone.”

Kanji and Naoto went bright red and immediately leapt away from each other. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” said Yosuke, as Yukiko burst into uncontrollable giggles.

“You weren’t dating already?” asked Yu.

“Nah,” said Kanji, “It’s, uh–”

“It took me a distressingly long time to figure out he was interested,” said Naoto honestly.

“Aw, congratulations!” said Chie.

“I thought Kanji was gay?” said Teddie.

Kanji got even redder. “C’mon, Ted, I’ve explained this a million times. I date men _and_ women.”

Teddie frowned. “Then who’s gay?”

Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko all raised their hands. Yukiko burst into another wave of hysterical giggles. Yosuke laughed along and tried not to feel Yu’s eyes on him.

They all ignored Teddie’s lamenting that “Chie-chan, Yuki-chan and Nao-chan are _all_ taken” in favour of teasing Naoto and Kanji mercilessly. Chie lied that she’d had a bet going on this whole time and the rest of them went along with it, demanding more and more elaborate amounts of yen off each other while Kanji got increasingly distressed. It was when Yu quietly raised his hand, pretending to be in on the betting too, that they all lost it, and followed Yukiko’s lead in laughing themselves silly while Kanji spluttered indignantly and Naoto turned roughly the colour of a cherry tomato.

Unwilling to let his good mood fade, Yosuke ducked into the kitchen to pull another six pack out of the fridge, uncapping a bottle and taking a swig before bringing the rest through. Chie and Kanji both jumped on them, and Teddie begged until Kanji reluctantly let him share his.

Teddie was snoring on the carpet within mere minutes.

When Rise made good on her promise to FaceTime, Yosuke leapt off the sofa, throwing himself down next to a startled Yu. “Trust me,” he said, “her reaction will be worth it.”

He shuffled closer to his old friend so that they were both in frame, and hit accept.

Rise appeared on the screen with wet hair and no makeup, clearly having just gotten out of the shower after a day’s shooting. Her smile immediately turned to confusion as she tried to identify the man sitting next to Yosuke, and then she shrieked, the sound distorting through his phone speakers.

“Senpai!” she said, and then burst into tears.

The jovial atmosphere died immediately as Rise’s sniffles sounded through Yosuke’s phone. He looked at Yu helplessly. He’d thought Rise’s reaction would be extreme, but had failed to factor in how emotional she was after working long shoots, and how hard she’d taken Yu’s disappearance.

He wordlessly handed the phone to Yu, who took it without question. “Rise,” he said softly, “Rise, I’m sorry.”

Yu stood up, taking the phone with him into the other room and closing the door lightly behind him. Whatever he was saying to Rise was too muffled to understand.

“Oops,” said Yosuke.

Naoto sighed. “Rise and Yu-san have always been close,” she said, “I think she took his disappearance quite hard. It’s not your fault, Yosuke, you didn’t know she’d react like that.”

He supposed he couldn’t blame her. The moment he was alone again, and the reality sunk in, Yosuke was pretty sure he was going to break down, too.

“Hey,” said Chie quietly, shooting a glance at the closed door, “has anyone else noticed that Yu hasn’t said a word about where he’s been?”

“Or why he went away,” said Naoto, nodding. “I think he’s deliberately steering the conversation away from it. Did any of you ask him before I arrived?”

They all shook their heads. “He didn’t really give us a chance to,” said Yukiko.

“Come on, guys,” said Kanji, “there’s gotta be a reason he doesn’t want to talk about it. How about, for once in our lives, we don’t pry?”

Naoto nodded solemnly. “Perhaps we should just be grateful he’s here now, and assume if he’s keeping secrets, he has his reasons.” She paused. “Still, it is interesting to consider why he’d have turned up today, of all days.”

Chie rolled her eyes. “That bit’s obvious. It’s Yosuke’s birthday. Yu might have dropped off the face of the earth but Yosuke always got a card.”

Naoto hummed. “Every year?”

“Like clockwork.”

Naoto looked curious, but didn’t say any more, because Yu was opening the door again and handing the phone back to Yosuke.

Rise had stopped crying, mostly. The smile she shot Yosuke when he came into view was genuine. “Happy Birthday, again,” she said, “I’m going to go now, it’s super late already. But we have a _lot_ to talk about when I next call, and you’re not dodging my questions.”

Her gaze was piercing. Yosuke swallowed. “Yes ma’am,” he said.

“Bye then!” she said, looking perkier at the prospect of future gossip, and hung up.

“She’s still a little scary-forceful, isn’t she?” said Yu.

“If anything,” said Kanji, “she’s gotten worse.”

They all seemed to collectively realise the time, then, Yukiko having pulled out her phone when Rise said it was late. It was past midnight. “We should be thinking about leaving,” she said. “Kanji, we’ll have missed the last train to Inaba.”

Kanji shrugged. “I’m staying over at Naoto’s.” Chie wolf-whistled, and he immediately went on the offensive. “Just to sleep, dammit! You can’t talk, anyway, since Yukiko will probably stay here tonight.”

Yukiko chuckled. “He’s got you there, Chie.”

“Whatever,” said Chie, yawning. “I’m going to bed. Coming, Yukiko?”

“Where’s Teddie sleeping?” They all turned to look at him, passed out on the floor.

Yosuke thought about it for a moment. “You have a spare futon, Naoto?” she nodded, and prodded Teddie awake.

Noato and Kanji said their goodbyes, Teddie trailing behind, and Chie and Yukiko got up from the sofa, stretching. They disappeared into the bathroom together, and Yosuke was left sitting across from Yu, with no idea what to say. It had been so long he’d almost forgotten how you kind of had to start every conversation with him, content as he was to just sit in silence.

“Um,” he said, desperately searching around for a topic and landing on the obvious choice, “Where are you staying?”

“Nowhere,” said Yu, shrugging.

“But you said you were in the area,” said Yosuke, “what were you doing?”

Yu was still sitting on the floor, Yosuke on the couch. It made talking to him directly a little awkward, Yu having to look up to speak to him. “Coming to see you,” he said, “to drop off that card.”

Yosuke couldn’t help the little flutter of pleasure at that, but he also couldn’t see Yu’s logic. “You came all the way from Tokyo to drop off a card without working out where you were staying? You’re kidding, right?”

Yu just shrugged again. Yosuke ran a hand down his face, “I guess you’re sleeping here too, then.”

Yu’s eyes widened. “Oh no,” he said, “I couldn’t possibly impose. I’ll just go to the station and wait for the earliest train, it’ll only be about five hours –”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Yosuke, “what’s one more house guest? Sleep on the sofa. Come on, I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”

Yu followed him into the kitchen, protesting all the while that he really couldn’t impose. Yosuke didn’t get it. If Yu was okay turning up unannounced on his doorstep after six years, why was sleeping over an imposition?

The conversation with the group had mostly been loud and raucous. They didn’t see each other as much as they once did, and almost never all together, so they’d mostly complained about work and teased each other. Now, with Yu the only listener, the atmosphere was different.

“So how have you been?” he asked, as he fished the cocoa from the cupboard.

Yu leant against the table. “I’m managing.”

Yosuke itched to ask for more details, but couldn’t quite bring himself to breach the elephant in the room. He got the milk from the fridge. “I’m good,” he said, though Yu hadn’t asked.

“I’m glad to hear it,” was the quiet reply. A pause, and then, “Are you seeing anyone, Yosuke?”

Yosuke dropped the milk bottle onto the counter with a thud. “Uh… no?” he said, his voice high. “How about, uh, how about you?”

“No. I didn’t know you were gay?”

What was this, a 1AM interrogation? He laughed awkwardly, inspecting the milk bottle to see if it had split when he dropped it. All seemed good. He poured it into a saucepan and turned on the hob. “Yeah, well, all that stuff about wanting a girlfriend in high school was mostly just overcompensating. I’ve known for a while.” He grimaced, hoping that’d be the end of it.

“Oh,” said Yu, “How did you know?”

Yosuke spun around to face him, annoyed. “Jeez, Yu, don’t just ask a guy that. How did _you_ know you were straight?”

Yu looked taken aback. “I’m not.”

Oh. _Oh_. Suddenly, Yu’s questions were framed differently. “Sorry,” he said, “I just assumed.”

Yu’s gentle laugh was almost nostalgic. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m… well. I’m not sure what I am. Bi, probably. I mean, there’s only really one person I’ve ever liked so it’s hard to tell.”

“Demisexual,” Yosuke supplied absently, turning back to the saucepan. “Not that you have to label it. What are they like?”

“Who?”

“The person you like,” he said, looking over his shoulder.

Yu raised an eyebrow. “Well, I can hardly be objective, can I?”

Yosuke chuckled, “Fair enough.” He added the cocoa and sugar to the milk and stirred, hyper-aware of the man leaning on the table behind him.

“Need any help?” said Yu, and Yosuke directed him to the mugs. A moment later, he was pouring two hot chocolates, figuring that he didn’t want to risk knocking on Chie’s door to see if she’d want one when Yukiko was over. He voiced this to Yu, who laughed again.

“How long have they been a thing?” he asked.

“A year or so,” said Yosuke, “But it’s pretty serious. I’ll be out of a roommate soon.” Chie and Yukiko were looking for houses in Inaba.

For a wild moment, Yosuke let himself imagine inviting Yu to live with him. It was a ridiculous notion – no doubt Yu had something to go back to in the city, and it’d be insane to ask that of a man he hadn’t seen in years. But still. He wanted to. Yu finished his cocoa with a smack of his lips.

“Do you need anything to sleep in?” He probably had a pair of sweats Yu could borrow, and at least one of his t-shirts was bound to be wide enough for Yu’s broad shoulders. Yu shook his head.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Alright,” said Yosuke, “You go wash up then. The bathroom’s down the hall. I’ll make up the sofa.”

 He pointed Yu in the right direction then walked back into the kitchen, his eyes falling on the envelope still sitting on the counter. He wondered why Yu didn’t want to be there when he opened it – nerves, most likely. It could be awkward watching somebody open a gift, particularly if you weren’t sure it was any good.

Best to open it now, then, Yosuke thought, while Yu was getting ready for bed. He ran his thumb under the seal and opened the envelope, pulling out a bright card with the words, “Have a Puurfect Birthday” and an ugly chibi kitten.

He was expecting the usual sparse message inside, but opened it anyway. To his surprise, the inside of the card was filled with words, the cheerful printed “Happy Birthday!” in the centre framed by dense lines of ink. He shifted, sitting down on top of the kitchen table, and began to read.

 

_Yosuke,_

_Happy Birthday. I know it’s been too long, and my apology means very little, but up until now I’ve been able to stay away because I believed the work I was doing to be valuable. I’m beginning to doubt that. I’m beginning to doubt there was ever any work important enough to have abandoned the friendship group I was once part of._

_Do you all still see each other? I got your address of Dojima, who got it from Chie. Apparently you live together now. ~~Are you dating?~~_

_If you’re reading this, I must have built up the courage to actually deliver it, so yay me I guess. I know I’ll be too scared to say it in person, but there’s a reason I’m here: I’ve had six years to think about it, and now I’m certain. I’ve been in love with you since Inaba._

_Obviously, you don’t feel the same way, and I don’t blame you if you hate me for disappearing. But if by some miracle, you’re interested, here’s my number._

_\- Yu_

 

Yosuke had to read it twice, sure he’d misinterpreted somewhere. His cheeks were scarlet, and his heart was racing, and he realised, belatedly, that Yu meant him to read this only when he was far away, not two doors down the hall.

There was no time to hide the fact he’d read it, however, because Yu returned to the kitchen a moment later. He froze in the doorway, staring at the card in Yosuke’s hand.

“You read it?”

“Yeah.”

 Yu put his hands into his pockets. “Well?”

Yosuke’s throat felt tight. “What the hell kind of work have you been doing since you left?” he asked. It was a good question, one he wanted the answer to, but not what Yu was asking him.

“Yosuke.”

“Sorry, I just – God, will you hate me if I say I just can’t give you an answer to this right now?”

Yu took a few steps into the room. “You don’t have to cushion it if it’s a straight-out no. That’s what I was expecting.”

“It’s not!” said Yosuke, “It’s not a no. I just – you were gone, and now you’re here, and I need a chance to readjust. This is– this is a lot.”

Yu nodded. “Okay.”

Yosuke’s eyes prickled, and he remembered it was half one on a weekday night and he had work the following morning. “Look,” he said, “Can we talk about this more another time? How long can you stay?”

“I can be here when you get in from work,” said Yu, “But Yosuke, surely you can’t want me to–”

“I’d rather you crash on my couch than disappear back to Tokyo and I never see you again,” he said. “Shit, I haven’t made the couch. Can I just give you a blanket?”

Yu told him he was fine with anything, and Yosuke went to fetch the spare blanket he used in winter and a couple of pillows, throwing them onto the sofa while Yu hovered awkwardly.

“Night,” he said.

“Night,” Yu repeated. Yosuke lingered in the doorway just long enough to see Yu turn his back on him, shucking off his shirt, before all but fleeing from the room. When he looked in the bathroom mirror, his cheeks were flaming. He pressed his hands to them, as if that would do anything, and then brushed his teeth, willing the blush to subside.

It was useless. As long as he was picturing Yu pulling of his shirt in Yosuke’s living room, the blush was staying. And he couldn’t stop picturing it.

Once he was under the covers, the situation only got worse. Last time he’d seen Yu, he’d thought he was straight. But he’d had time to reflect, and Yosuke couldn’t deny that the way he’d acted around Yu – always trying to impress him, calling him ‘partner’ – was probably the result of a bit of a crush, unrecognised for what it was at time.

Even when he’d realised that a few years ago, he’d never considered _dating_ Yu. By that point, the other man had moved away. It was an impossibility.

Now, though, it was all he could think about. He laid awake for hours mulling it over, trying to comprehend the idea that Yu had felt that way about him, _still_ felt that way about him. And wondering if, maybe, he could feel that way too.

He’d never had a boyfriend that had lasted more than a few months. He’d spoken to Chie about it once, and Chie, in her way, had stumbled across the answer without even realising she’d done so. The problem, she’d said, was that Yosuke was so busy trying to get them to like the best version of himself that he ended up never letting them see him for who he truly was. But Yu had literally seen his shadow, had fought it, had helped him accept it. And more than that, you can’t repeatedly look death in the face with someone for a year of your life and not know the ins and outs of the worst bits of their personality.

Imagining his future with Yu in it made him smile into his pillow.   

By the time he got to sleep, light was beginning to filter in through the curtains. But he’d also come up with a game plan: he was going to work out what exactly Yu had been up to, and then he was going to date the hell out of him.

-

Yosuke awoke to Chie’s voice. “Hey,” she said, “get up, idiot.”

Groaning, Yosuke rolled onto his side and rubbed at his sleep-sticky eyes. Chie was stood in front of him, in her police uniform. In her hand was his phone. “Your alarm’s been blaring for a good ten minutes,” she said, “so I guessed you were about to sleep through it. You’re welcome.”

Yosuke propped himself up on one elbow and realised that his head was pounding. “Thanks, Chie,” he said.

“No problem,” she put his phone back down onto the bedside table and crossed her arms. “Care to explain why a shirtless Yu Narukami is asleep on our sofa?”

Yosuke’s head gave a particularly painful throb as he remembered the reason for its existence. “He didn’t have a place to stay,” he said.

“Well,” she said, “you should probably wake him up before you go into work so he doesn’t wake up in an empty apartment.”

“You don’t think he’d just leave, do you?” said Yosuke, sitting up properly. God, his head was killing him. He did not function well on so little sleep.

“The Yu we knew in high school wouldn’t,” said Chie, “But he’s not that person anymore.”

Yosuke imagined it for a moment. Going into work and coming home to find Yu gone again. He sighed. “Go to work, Chie, you’ll be late. I’m going to call in sick.”

He was a model employee most of the time, his life too boring to justify skipping work, but he knew there was no way he could focus when he was thinking of Yu hanging around their apartment, guessing at whether he’d still be there when he returned. Plus, his head really did hurt.

Chie grinned. “Good man. I’ll be back by afternoon today, kay?”

Yosuke waited for her to leave the room before he got up and out of bed. He peeked in to the living room to see Yu fast asleep still on the couch, then showered quickly and spent longer than he would like to admit picking an outfit.

He was combing his fingers through his wet hair – much shorter now than it had been in school – when there was a knock on his bedroom door.

“Yosuke?” came Yu’s collected voice, “Are you in there?”

“Give me a sec,” he said, and hurriedly kicked all visible underwear under the bed before opening the door. “Good morning.”

Yu still wasn’t wearing a shirt, and Yosuke found himself trying very hard not to stare. “I’m surprised you’re still here,” said Yu, “Didn’t you have work?”

“Called in sick.”

“Afraid I’d disappear again?”

He flushed. “Uh, a little. But mostly I didn’t get enough sleep. Tension headache.”

Yu’s face twisted in sympathy. “I’ll make coffee,” he said, and disappeared.

Yosuke took a moment just to stare after him – it was all so _domestic_ – and then followed him into the kitchen.

 “So,” said Yosuke as he entered, “What’s the deal with this job of yours?”

Yu’s hands stilled on the coffee pot. “Why do you ask?”

“Because if it’s kept you away for six years it better be pretty damn important. Is it about the TV world?”

Yu turned away from the coffee pot, leaning against the kitchen counter. “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“But Teddie said the TV world’s been peaceful,” said Yosuke, “he goes back all the time.”

“Well, maybe it’d be more accurate to say my work had something to do with shadows. I was researching them.”

“And now?”

“And now I’m not,” said Yu simply, turning his attention back to the coffee. “That’s all.”

Yosuke sat on the kitchen table and folded his arms. “Yeah, no,” he said, “I’m calling bullshit. What happened?”

Yu put the coffee pot on the hob. “My mentor was killed,” he said, calmly, his back to Yosuke. “She was killed for her research, and her daughter was sent to live with relatives.”

“Oh,” said Yosuke.

“And I tried to carry on without her, but it wasn’t safe anymore. So I had to leave.”

“When was this?”

“A few years ago.” Yu was gripping the counter so hard his knuckles were white. Yosuke slipped off the table and moved so that he was standing behind him.

“Hey,” he said, “look at me.”

Yu turned around. Yosuke had expected tears, maybe, but Yu’s eyes were like fire. “My mentor’s research was on the cognitive world. The way she described it, it sounded like our TV world – distorted desires, shadows, worlds created from thought. I’ve spent the time since her death trying to access it.”

“And did you?”

Yu nodded.

Yosuke’s heart was racing. Their personas would surely work in a cognitive world like Yu was describing, if they could still summon them. It’d be amazing to go back, to feel useful again. But Yu looked grim. “There’s a catch,” said Yosuke.

“When I got there,” said Yu, “There were already kids – teenagers in masks. And I saw one of them summon a persona, and I knew, right then, that I’d been wasting my time.”

“Huh?”

“That world isn’t _for_ us anymore, it’s for them. That new investigation team, or whatever they decide to call themselves.”

The coffee pot was beginning to whistle. Yu moved it off the heat absently. Yosuke was beginning to figure something out.

“You left,” he said, “because you couldn’t let the TV world go, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” said Yu.

“Well, that was stupid,” said Yosuke, which startled a laugh from the other man.

“Before Inaba,” said Yu softly, “I had nothing. I think maybe I was scared of having nothing again.”

Yosuke took a step back, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You don’t have nothing,” he said. “You have me, and the rest of the old investigation team.”

“If you still want me,” said Yu.

“Of course we want you,” said Yosuke, “we’ll always want you.”

There were tears in Yu’s eyes, but Yosuke decided not to mention them.

-

It was odd how easily he and Yu fell back into easy friendship, once everything was out in the open. Yu agreed to accept some of Yosuke’s clothes so he wasn’t wearing what he’d slept in, and Yosuke found a pair of pants and a t-shirt that just about fitted Yu at the back of his wardrobe. (The shirt was obscenely tight, stretching over Yu’s chest in a way that made Yosuke’s mouth dry.)

The rest of the morning was spent playing video games on a console Yosuke had had so long it could probably be considered vintage, and eating leftover birthday cake. When Chie got in she flashed them a big thumbs up and disappeared into her room to change, coming out half an hour later with a duffle bag.

“I’m staying at Yukiko’s tonight,” she said, “we’ve got houses to look at.”

“Oh,” said Yu, “Where are you looking?”

“Inaba,” she said. “Yukiko’s sick of living in the Inn.”

Yusuke leaned back on the sofa, stretching. “What’s the verdict on the house near Kanji’s place?”

“It’s got its good points and its bad points, and both of those are that it’s close to Kanji’s place.”

“Fair,” said Yosuke, while Yu looked affronted on their friend’s behalf. “It’s not Kanji,” Yosuke explained, “It’s just that Teddie lives with Kanji, and he’s still bad at boundaries.” Yu’s lips twitched at that.

“I’m off, then,” said Chie, “Which makes this goodbye, Yu.”

Yu leapt off the couch to say goodbye, bowing deeply. Chie rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug instead. Yosuke heard her murmur “take care of yourself” before she let go.

And then she was gone, and it was just Yu and Yosuke in the apartment again. Yosuke had had enough of video games for the day.

“What’re your plans now?” he asked, twisting himself on the sofa so he was looking directly at Yu.

“Head back to Tokyo, I suppose.”

“You got a job to get back to?”

Yu shrugged. “I work here and there – mostly zero hours stuff, you know.” Yosuke did know – Yu had done similar work while they were at school. But surely that couldn’t be enough to live on as an adult. “Don’t worry about it, I have enough for my fare home.”

Yeah, no, that made Yosuke worry more. “Why don’t you just stay here?” he suggested.

Yu blinked, “For another night?”

 “No I mean move in with me,” said Yosuke excitedly, leaning forwards. “Chie’s moving out anyway, you can sleep on the couch until then and take her room when she’s gone.”

 “I can’t.”

Yosuke’s stomach dropped. “Oh.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I do. It’s just…” It looked like Yu was struggling for an excuse, and Yosuke shook his head.

“No, man, it’s cool. I get it. It’d be weird, we haven’t seen each other in years. I just thought…” he just thought, what with that letter, with Yu being in love with him, that he’d jump on the idea. But maybe real-life Yosuke didn’t match up to the one Yu had been picturing when he was gone.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” said Yu, and he twisted himself too, folding his legs underneath him so he was facing Yosuke directly. “I can’t live here because given how I feel about you, it’d be torture.”

Oh. Hearing him say it out loud was completely different from seeing it written down on a page. Yosuke struggled to maintain eye contact, his whole face felt flushed. It was now or never.

“What if, hypothetically, I felt the same?”

Yu’s eyes widened. “Please don’t joke about that.”

“I’m not! I thought about it last night. I had a crush on you, back in school. And none of my relationships have ever gone anywhere, probably because I always compared them to you.”  

“Yosuke…”

Yosuke leaned forwards further so his hands were on the space between them, his face close to Yu’s. “Date me.”

Yu smiled. “Ok.”

Yosuke grinned and pitched forward, pulling Yu towards him into a hug. Yu’s balance on the sofa was precarious and Yosuke’s legs were still twisted awkwardly, hanging over the edge, but he didn’t care.

He tucked his face into Yu’s shoulder, breathing deeply. “I’ve missed you so fucking bad, partner,” he said. Yu’s breath hitched.

“Say that again.”

“What, ‘partner’?” said Yosuke.

“Yeah,” said Yu. “It’s– I don’t know if I deserve to be called that again, but thank you.”

“You’ve always been my partner,” said Yosuke as he leaned back, un-snaking his arms from around Yu. “Partner in crime, and uh, the other kind, now.”

Yu’s smile was soft and more relaxed than he’d seen it since he’d shown up. “I will need to go back to Tokyo eventually, you know,” he said, “To pick up my stuff.”

“But you’ll move in?”

“Absolutely.”

They sat there, beaming at each other, and Yosuke realised he had no idea where to go from here. In a matter of minutes, he and Yu had gone from two friends trying to reconnect to roommates and partners. He was so happy he could burst, but it was also a pretty weird situation.

 “If I kiss you,” said Yosuke, “Would that be weird?”

Yu shook his head and Yosuke leant in, pressing their lips together firmly. Yu’s hand found his. It was weird, but only in a _holy-shit-I’m-kissing-Yu-Narukami_ kind of way. Yu laughed when he pulled back.

“What? My technique that bad or something?”

“No,” said Yu, “I’m just happy.”

"Yeah," said Yosuke, "me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Cheesy ending is cheesy. I wrote most of this fic about two months ago and forgot about it until last week, so that's my excuse. 
> 
> Also, I actually headcanon Yosuke as bi, but made him gay in this just for the "so who's gay" bit.


End file.
